


At the End of the Day

by goingtothetardis



Series: The Gallifrey Room [2]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: At least a modified version of telepathic sex, Bad Wolf, Discussions of a Telepathic Bond, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emphatic intimacy, F/M, Meddling TARDIS, Post-Episode: s02e07 The Idiot's Lantern, Romance, Sexy Times, TARDIS rooms, Telepathic Sex, Telepathy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-19
Updated: 2016-06-19
Packaged: 2018-07-15 22:06:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7240321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goingtothetardis/pseuds/goingtothetardis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Doctor and Rose go to the Gallifrey room after a traumatic adventure and find comfort in each other in unexpected ways.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [RainbowKittn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RainbowKittn/gifts).



> This story is for RainbowKittn on tumblr who was a winner in my 500 follower fic giveaway. She prompted Ten/Rose with the prompt of: _The Doctor needs to go into Rose’s mind (for whatever reason) and is overwhelmed by her feelings for him, so he decides to show her his feelings as well._ Well, I mostly wrote that, but this fic took on a life of it’s own, and I had to follow the muse. I really hope you like it, because I’ve been putting a lot of love into it the last several weeks. It’s a sequel to my fic, [Gallifrey, For a Moment](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6584650), which was originally inspired by a TimePetalsPrompt ficlet prompt involving rooms on the TARDIS. 
> 
> Also, if you'd like some visuals for the Doctor and Rose, I used [this](http://fadewithfury.tumblr.com/post/149039020608/foxmoonart-stargazing-ten-x-rose-for) artwork by FadeWithFury/FoxMoonArt on tumblr to inspire me. :)
> 
> A humungous thank you to CrazyGirlNE for the wonderful beta (and please excuse any mistakes, as I went back and tweaked after she got done with it) and to ten_and_a_rose for brainstorming a few bits with me.

As the evening wore on, Rose could tell by the way he held her hand, clenched tightly within his, how much tension he hid beneath his calm and cheery exterior. She’d held his hand long enough to know to feel the transition of his moods through a simple touch, and now? Now it was time to get back to the TARDIS. Time to return to the one place in the universe they could both truly be themselves, to find safety and comfort in the one place danger eluded them. 

They’d spent a few hours celebrating on the streets, drinking juice, eating cake, and dancing. But after a time, the Doctor began to withdraw, eyes dark and jaw clenched. Despite quiet conversations with the neighborhood residents, the Doctor’s troubled gaze never left her face, and Rose knew their adventure in 1953 was at a close. 

Hands entwined, Rose pulled the Doctor along as they spoke a few quiet farewells and made their way down the street. The further they got from the street party, the Doctor’s taut grip lessened, and his thumb gently caressed hers.

During their walk to the TARDIS, Rose considered the Doctor’s behavior. The quiet desperation of his demeanor was quite unlike him, and she wondered if something else had happened while the Wire kept her in that vast, dark emptiness. She shuddered, tamping down the memory. Or, she thought, perhaps he was simply shaken by what had happened to her, and she realized how horrible it must have been for the Doctor to see her as an empty shell. 

They reached the TARDIS, and the Doctor slid his key in and quietly unlocked the door. He held the door open for Rose as she slipped inside. It was a stark contrast from when they exited the ship the previous day, full of flirty laughter and era appropriate lingo. While he sent them into the Vortex, Rose stood quietly beside him with both hands resting on the console. 

“Rose, I –” The Doctor stopped, staring at her intently before taking a deep breath. “I’d like to go to Gallifrey tonight. Join me?”

“Yeah, of course, Doctor, but first I need a shower. I’m feeling a bit manky after… After everything.” Rose made a face and gestured to her outfit. 

The Doctor nodded. “Of course, yeah, I’ll just… I’ll clean up too. Meet you in the kitchen?”

Rose smiled at him and turned to leave but stopped when his hand unexpectedly grabbed hers to keep her there. She turned to him, a question written on her face. 

The Doctor let go of her hand and cupped her cheek, running his thumb over the smooth skin. His eyes burned into hers, and she gasped softly at the intensity she found there. “Rose, you looked beautiful today.” The Doctor held her gaze without wavering, despite the uncharacteristic statement that usually made him bluster and fidget and ramble on about “for a human” and anything else that would help cover up a moment of vulnerability. 

Rose covered his hand with her own before responding with a smile. “Thank you, Doctor.” Usually she helped him recover from any moments of accidental verbal dalliance with a tongue in cheek reply, and the moments passed with playful banter and distraction to avoid the deeper meaning of the things he’d said. But right now, her simple reply was sufficient. 

They stared at each other a few more seconds before Rose removed his hand from her cheek and squeezed it once before leaving the console room.

+++++

Rose loitered longer than expected in the shower. She stood under the steady flow of water and let it soothe the tension lingering in her muscles and body. Her thoughts drifted aimlessly for a while, but eventually the events of the day swirled chaotically to the surface of her mind. She’d seen the strange electric spark in the television and had followed the clues to Magpie’s shop. She didn’t regret her actions, but the sensation of being taken and absorbed by the Wire had been… Her skin tingled unpleasantly with goosebumps at the memory.

She’d drifted through a fog, in whatever electric current sufficient to sustain the Wire, unable to focus on anything except for one thing. _The Doctor. Find the Doctor. Return to the Doctor._ Her mind had been taken and absorbed, while her body had been left an empty shell, devoid of life and spirit, existing only on a few remaining electrical impulses. To think she’d looked like Tommy’s grandmother, a blank face with hands cracking creepily in response to a complete neural shutdown, made her heart race with anxiety. Rose swallowed back bile and tried not to think about how the Doctor must have reacted to her in a similar state. 

In the end, the Doctor had found a way to save them all. He hadn't yet explained how he’d managed it, but she assumed it wasn’t as easy as he’d let on. It never was, in her experience, and it was very likely he’d put his own life on the line to save everyone. A few tears trailed down her cheeks, and she swiped them away before tilting her head up to the stream of water, letting it clean her face. 

Forcing the lingering thoughts to the back of her mind, Rose focused on the task of cleaning herself and finishing her usual post-adventure activities. She slipped on a pair of comfy leggings and a flowy vest top over a strappy, comfortable bra, a look she’d adopted from several years into Earth’s future, and left her damp hair free to dry naturally, then made her way to the kitchen, anxious to be reunited with the Doctor.

+++++

A short while later, the Doctor and Rose arrived in what they’d come to call “their spot” in the Gallifrey room. Since the almost disastrous first visit shortly after she’d started traveling with her leather-clad Doctor, the room had become a place of refuge and solitude for both of them. The TARDIS always seemed to know what they needed when they visited the room, and she frequently tailored it to their needs. If they wanted to swim in the river, they’d find a wonderful swimming hole and perfect beach on the river’s edge. If they wanted to relax and read, they found a basket of books from the library and soft blankets to lay on. Tonight, however, they wandered into a clearing surrounded by towering silver trees under a fabricated sky. Stars twinkled overhead in the orange night sky, and the moons shone bright enough to cast an ethereal golden red glow on the silver leaves.

The Doctor set aside the small picnic basket carrying sandwiches and their favorite carbonated drinks as Rose shook out a large blanket next to the tree she’d found it under. They sat down side-by-side against the smooth bark of the tree trunk.

“She always knows what we need, I love it,” Rose said fondly, and the Doctor gave her a soft look. 

“Yeah, she does, doesn’t she?” The Doctor looked up at the ceiling sky and sent his ship a silent thank you. A few stars shot across the sky, and the Doctor snorted. Always a cheeky thing, his ship. 

Rose looked up from rummaging around in the basket and pulled out both sandwiches, handing one to the Doctor and keeping the other for herself. “What’s so funny?”

“Oh, you could never see shooting stars on Gallifrey because of the gravitational effect from the moons interfering with the atmosphere. Well, I say never, but every few decades the moons’ orbital paths synchronized for about thirty Earth days and allowed for movement in space to be visible.” the Doctor explained. “I laughed, because when I thanked the TARDIS, she made a few stars shoot across the sky.”

“Well, this is _our_ Gallifrey, Doctor. The TARDIS has some fun with it, I think,” Rose observed.

The Doctor bit into his sandwich and chewed before giving her a sidelong glance with a small grin, the corner of his mouth quirking up. “Yeah. Yeah, she does.”

They ate quietly together, simply content to let the chiming melody of the wind through the grass soothe their hearts and minds after the long day. Finally, stomachs filled, they returned the used dishes and bottles back to the basket. The Doctor stood and moved the basket to the other side of the tree, and he removed his jacket and tie, draping them carefully over the handle. He unbuttoned the top few buttons on his shirt and rolled his sleeves up. 

When he turned back around, his hearts stuttered at the sight of Rose. She lay on her back, hands resting softly on her belly and hair splayed out in a golden halo around her head. Eyes closed, her face projected an inner peacefulness he failed to match. The Doctor watched her for a few minutes before Rose noticed his silence and propped herself up to look at him. 

“What you doin’, Doctor? Come on, lay down. The stars are lovely,” Rose invited, biting her lip when she saw his dressed down state, eyes roaming unhindered over his body and lingering on his rarely exposed forearms. 

_Rose_ was lovely. She shone brighter than any star in the sky, and he never wanted to look at anything else again. Unwelcome memories of Rose without her face sprang to the forefront of his mind, and her name fell unintentionally from his lips. “Rose.” Before she could respond, he was on the blanket beside her. 

“Doctor, what’s –” she started, but he placed a finger on her lips and traced them gently. Rose’s eyes widened in surprise, but she let her lips part naturally. Rose slowly lay back on the ground, shifting her head slightly to face him, and the Doctor reclined on his side close to her body. 

“Your face was gone, _you_ were gone,” he murmured as his fingers moved to trace the contours of her face. First he traced the outer edge before outlining her lips, nose, eyebrows, and cheeks. Their eyes focused solely on each other, and he heard her ragged breathing in response to his touch. She remained still, however, seeming to understand his need to touch her in this moment. “I thought I lost you, Rose.” His voice shook slightly, catching on her name.

Rose’s eyes flooded with understanding and compassion. “I’m right here, Doctor. I’m never gonna leave you. I promise.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Rose,” the Doctor bit out.

Rose fixed him with a stern expression. “Doctor,” she warned. “As long as I have any say in things, I’m never leaving.” She lifted a hand up and pointed at him. “And you’d better get used to it.”

The Doctor’s hearts hammered loudly in his chest as his restless mind tried to believe all the things Rose said. Without thinking he curled his hand around the back of Rose’s head, tangling his fingers in her hair, and pressed his lips against hers, kissing her softly. He meant it to be chaste and short, but when a satisfied little moan escaped her mouth, he was powerless to resist deepening the kiss, sliding his tongue over the seam of her lips to coax them open.

+++++

Rose floated on a blissful cloud below the Doctor, almost not believing that _the Doctor’s lips were finally on hers_. Intoxicated by the taste of him, she lost herself in the sensation of the kiss, the feel of their tongues lazily stroking each other, teeth scraping intently against lips and skin, and a growing warmth coiling down low. Her hands rose to his head, fingers twisting in his thick, brown locks, and when she scratched lightly along his scalp, she smiled through the kiss when he groaned. After several moments, she pulled away breathlessly, and undeterred, the Doctor simply moved to trail kisses down her jaw and along the contours of her cheeks, nose, before softly kissing the corners of her eyes.

“When they brought you in without your face, without everything that makes you _you_ , it made me realize something.” He punctuated his words with a line of kisses down her neck, ending at her pulse point, which he sucked on briefly, pulling a low moan from Rose. “Well, I realized a long time ago, but I’m always a coward, me,” he said, falling briefly into the speech patterns of his former self. “Every time I thought I lost you, regret that I never did anything about it almost consumed me. But –” He swallowed thickly. “Enough of that. I want to call you mine, Rose Tyler.” The Doctor spoke her name on a breath, like a prayer or sacred oath.

Rose gently pushed the Doctor off her and rolled to her side, cupping the Doctor’s cheek with a wide smile. 

_Did he really not know?_

“I’m already yours, Doctor. Have been for a long time. Since ‘run,’ really.” She paused and moved both hands to his chest, covering both his hearts. “And you’re already mine.”

The Doctor responded with a low growl and moved quickly to straddle Rose, pushing her back against the blanket again. The Doctor’s mouth swallowed the squeak of shock that escaped her lips at the unexpected movement, and she tasted the desperation in his kiss, as if he expected her to disappear from his sight, and her heart clenched painfully when she felt his anguish from all the times she’d been lost… All the times it might happen again. 

As their lips and tongues moved fiercely together, Rose slid her hands between them and used the Doctor’s belt loops to pull him closer, until his hips pressed against hers. Rose gasped when she felt his arousal and instinctively raised her hips to meet his, grinding into him for friction. The Doctor froze, and Rose stopped breathing, terrified she’d crossed over some unmarked boundary into a level of intimacy the Doctor wasn’t yet ready to embrace. 

The Doctor slowly raised his hips and repositioned his legs, placing one hand on each side of her head and leaning his forehead to hers as his ragged breaths warmed her face. Unsure of his reaction, Rose decided to let the Doctor lead the moment, and she softly threaded her fingers through his hair, and let her thumb nails scratch against his temples.

As they hovered at the edge of a precipice, one side of which would allow their relationship to naturally progress to a place Rose had hardly dared to dream about, Rose felt soft whispers of contentment, arousal, want, and something deep and profound she didn’t have a word for but left her almost breathless in its wake, and she tensed slightly, eyes flying open to stare at the Doctor. 

“Doctor?”

His eyes fluttered open, but he kept his forehead pressed against hers. “Hmmm?” 

“Did you just –” She stopped, thinking quickly. An idea, an impossible idea blossomed in her mind. Had she just felt the Doctor’s thoughts? She knew he was a touch telepath, but thinking they’d never be able to communicate in such a way, she’d never asked about it. Despite their very tactile (but strictly platonic) relationship, she’d never felt anything quite like the feathery touch of his mind against hers before. Now, however, with the Doctor’s forehead touching hers and her thumbs on his temple, perhaps…

Rose took everything she felt for the Doctor, the unspoken love, always so great an effort to contain, the affection, attraction, and acceptance of him, _all of him_ and who he was, and pushed it outwards toward the Doctor, focusing on his mind and the sense of the Doctor from before.

+++++

The Doctor staggered back from Rose, tripping on his feet in his haste to move away. He landed on his bum at the edge of the blanket and stared at Rose in complete disbelief and shock.

Somewhere in the back of his mind he noted Rose push up from her supine position and warily regard him, chewing nervously on her bottom lip. His mind was in chaos. Minutes before, with his forehead against hers and her thumbs on his temples, the Doctor had picked up on the barest hint of telepathic awareness from Rose, and he’d been irresistibly drawn to the sensation. 

He’d hovered there, lingering in the tantalizing temptation of her consciousness, knowing he should sit back and address the physical direction of their intimacy. However, he’d been powerless to resist the barest caress of their minds together. He’d fought against the inticing pull of her mind, only too aware of proper telepathic etiquette, before he’d been bombarded by an onslaught of Rose’s thoughts and feelings. 

_For him._

_Impossible._

Both the way she felt for him and the way she’d telepathically shared those thoughts. 

“Rose…” His voice was raw, tinged with disbelief and awe. “How…?” The Doctor trailed off in question, for once unable to fully articulate his words. 

Before answering, Rose shifted on the blanket and sat with legs crossed, keeping distance from the Doctor. Well, that wouldn’t do. Finally finding some coordination, the Doctor crawled toward Rose before mirroring her pose directly across from her. 

The Doctor looked pointedly at Rose, begging for an answer. 

“Well, I jus’... I felt you, Doctor. At least I think it was you. _Felt_ like you.” She blushed when the Doctor could only gape.

“What do you mean you ‘felt’ me?” 

Rose sat thoughtfully a moment before explaining. “It was when your forehead was touching mine, and I jus’ felt, I dunno. Warm, content…” She looked down at the blanket briefly before meeting his eyes again, and even in the dim light, he could tell her cheeks were flushed. “An’ you have feelings for me, Doctor. You _want_ me. I could feel that, somehow. I can’t really explain, but I know it was you.”

Flummoxed, the Doctor pulled at his hair. “But _how_ , Rose? It’s impossible.”

Rose shrugged helplessly and tugged down on the the hem of her shirt. “Maybe not as impossible as you think.” For a moment it looked as though she was having an argument with herself, and he saw the moment a decision had been made when she took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and looked him straight in the eye. “What happened when you fell back from me, Doctor? Why did you move away?” 

Holding her gaze and knowing she wanted him to acknowledge her actions, the Doctor continued. “Because you did something that shouldn’t be possible. Your feelings for me, Rose– Everything. I heard it all. Inside my mind. You communicated with me telepathically. That should be impossible!”

Rose sighed in exasperation. “Stop saying it’s bloody impossible, Doctor, because _clearly_ it’s not!”

The Doctor’s hearts swelled in affection at Rose’s heated response, and he knew she wasn’t going to let him get away with his claims of the impossible. 

Interrupting his thoughts, Rose continued. “How about you find out _how_ it’s possible instead of doubting it? You like to find out how things work, yeah? Investigate all the mysteries of the universe? So how is this any different?” The Doctor rather thought she made a good point. Before he could answer, however, she surprised him further. “An’ if you need to go into my head, I’m okay with that.”

“But you don’t like anything getting into your mind and changing it.”

Rose sighed. “That was back then, Doctor. I barely knew you, and I was still getting used to the idea of a time traveling spaceship and aliens. So yeah, I was a bit upset about the TARDIS getting in my mind without permission.” Rose unfolded her legs and scooted closer to the Doctor. His breath hitched when she reached a hand out and stroked his cheek. “But now I know you; I know the TARDIS. And I trust you, both of you, with my life.”

The Doctor groaned softly before cupping Rose’s face and kissing her soundly on the lips. What had he ever done to deserve this woman? “Are you sure, Rose?”

“Doctor.” Rose’s voice left no room for argument. 

“Right, yes.” He looked appropriately sheepish. “Just sit like you were, and I’m going to hold my hands here. You can do the same, if you’d like.” The Doctor placed his fingers on Rose’s temples and bit his lip to hold back a pleasured sigh when Rose mirrored his action on his own temples. “Now,” he whispered, “I’m going into your mind, and you should be able to feel my presence. If there’s anything you don’t want me to see, imagine it behind a door, and it’ll be hidden from view.”

Their eyes fluttered shut, and the Doctor pushed forward into the captivating landscape of Rose’s mind. He gasped in shock when he felt Rose simultaneously slip into his, with the ease of an experienced telepath. The two-sided telepathic contact nearly took his breath away, and it compelled him to move ever closer to Rose, resting his forehead against hers once more. He hadn’t experienced mental contact like this since before the Time War ended, and even then, it’d never been like this. Never with the deeply emotional and intimate connection of a lover. Well, soon to be lover. 

_Oh really? Care to share those plans with the rest of the class?_ Rose gave a cheeky telepathic wave. 

_Ah, blimey. You weren’t supposed to hear that. I just assumed that…_ He trailed off when he felt Rose shaking with laughter. 

_You don’t have to explain, Doctor. ‘S alright. Besides, I might combust if that doesn’t happen soon, so please, do your investigating._

_It’s just, you feel so good, Rose, and it’s hard to control my thoughts and reactions when you’re in my mind._ Under his fingertips, he felt Rose’s heartbeat increase at his words.

_So don’t. I’m not saying you have to show me everything, but do like you told me. Put those things you don’t want me to see behind a closed door. It’s okay, Doctor. You don’t have to hold back for me._

The Doctor acquiesed and hid a few of his darkest secrets behind closed doors, knowing that if he and Rose continued on their current path of both telepathic and physical intimacy, he wouldn’t be able to hide them forever. However, he found some peace knowing that Rose understood he had more than 900 years of life experiences and that not all of them painted the Doctor as an example of his name. He’d buried much from the years of the Time War in the dark recesses of his mind, and he was content to leave those things hidden from view. 

Exhaling slowly, the Doctor began his investigation. She was so very human, bright and alluring, and to feel the core of her soul, the pink-tinged gold of her consciousness, dancing around him almost distracted him from his task. Despite her humanness, the Doctor quickly found that Rose’s mind was perfectly developed for telepathy, complete with all the neuropathic pathways found only in telepathic species. Anxiety overrode the blissful contentment he’d experienced in the presence of Rose’s mind, and he knew she felt it.

 _Doctor, what’s wrong?_ she asked, worriedly. _Am I alright?_

 _Your mind, Rose, it’s… There’s nothing wrong, exactly, but you’re human. Humans don’t have the right neural pathways to allow for telepathy, and your mind is full of them. It’s almost as if…_ He trailed off and quickly put up some barriers to allow himself to think without interruption from Rose. As he thought furiously, the Doctor felt some telepathic interference from the TARDIS. 

_Doctor, the TARDIS. Is that the TARDIS?_ Rose asked curiously. 

_You can feel her too?_ the Doctor asked in astonishment, although at this point he didn’t know why he was still surprised about anything Rose did that evening. 

_Yeah, ‘s like she’s trying to show us something in my mind. Can’t you see?_

The Doctor and Rose followed the pull of the TARDIS’s presence, and the Doctor quickly realized his ship was showing them Rose’s telepathic pathways. He examined the pathways closer and found their structure to be almost identical to that of a Gallifreyan but with the extra strand granted only to Time Lords and Ladies to allow for a telepathic connection with their TARDISes. 

The Doctor pulled away from Rose, and they both gasped at the uncomfortable feeling of their minds being abruptly separated from each other.

+++++

Concerned about what, exactly, the TARDIS had just shown the Doctor, Rose placed a concerned hand on his leg and demanded to know what he’d seen. “Doctor, you need to tell me what’s wrong. Now.”

The Doctor was quiet a moment before answering. “The TARDIS showed me that the telepathic neural pathways you shouldn’t even have –”

“Doctor, stop trying to force the impossible away. It _is_ possible. I have these pathways, an’ you need to tell me what is going on _right now_.” She left no room for argument. 

The Doctor finally met her eyes, and she sighed in relief at the cautious hope she found there. “You have telepathic neural pathways almost identical to mine. Physiologically, they match that of a Gallifreyan, but as a Time Lord, I have an extra pathway that developed when I formed a bond with my TARDIS. And you have that extra pathway, which indicates that you have a fully formed bond with the TARDIS.”

Rose gaped at the doctor in disbelief. “So you mean, I bonded with the TARDIS? When did –” She stopped when long since buried memories flooded her mind. “When I came back to you on the gamestation. When I opened her heart and _looked into the TARDIS, and the TARDIS looked into me_ ,” she said softly, her voice momentarily taking on the ethereal quality she’d once had during her time as the Bad Wolf. 

Rose grabbed the Doctor’s hand when he paled at her words. “Doctor, it’s okay.”

“How do you know, Rose? I thought I got it all out of you!” the Doctor demanded, panic edging his words.

Before Rose could reply, they were both struck with a wave of comfort and reassurance from the TARDIS so strong they fell into each other to stay upright. Rose laughed, and the Doctor scowled at the ceiling sky. 

“I think the TARDIS is trying to tell us that everything is gonna be alright and that we should get back to telepathic snogging instead of worryin’ about it. Just believe your ship, Doctor. Has she ever lied to you?” 

“Welllllll....” the Doctor started, pulling on his left ear.

Rose rolled her eyes. “Lied about the important things?”

The Doctor shook his head. “No,” he said simply. “She hasn’t. But Rose, I know she says you’re fine, but I can’t just accept that. I have to know, see it myself. I need to take you to the medbay to run some tests.” He moved to stand, but Rose grabbed his hand and yanked him down beside her. 

“No, not now.” He started to protest and she shushed him with a finger on his lips. “Not now, Doctor. I promise, tomorrow you can run all the tests you want on me . We’ll figure it out, Doctor, and I’m sure the TARDIS will help.” She paused for a moment and bit her lip before shifting to move in front of the Doctor on her knees. Leaning forward, she placed feather light kisses all over his face, following the earlier path of his own kisses, before ending at his mouth, pulling him into a long, leisurely snog. She felt his mind brush against hers and she nudged forward, falling into the vast cavernous comfort of the Doctor’s mind.

_Right now, I want you, Doctor. All of you._


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor and Rose have a discussion about her telepathy and finally progress their relationship to the next level.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the conclusion to this little story. This follows immediately after Chapter 1, and this is the section that earns the rating. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy it. :)
> 
> Thanks to the super amazing CrazyGirlNE for the beta!

Rose shifted closer and straddled the Doctor’s lap. They both groaned as the placement of their bodies hit them both _just so_ , at the perfect angle to feel the heat of arousal that had been building between them all evening. She plunged her fingers into his hair, possessively proud that _she_ was the one creating his tousled new look, and met his lips with a softness that belied the aggressiveness of her hands in his hair and the rock of her hips against his. Their shared mental presence electrified her senses and added to the coursing passion between them. 

“Rose. Rose, wait,” the Doctor gasped out between kisses. Rose frowned but pulled back, loathe to push him too far despite her desperation to get as close to the Doctor as possible, both physically and mentally. She moved to pull herself off the Doctor, but he grabbed her hips and pulled her back to his lap. Despite their continued physical contact, Rose felt the Doctor extract himself from her mind, and she followed his lead. 

The Doctor pulled her in for a hug. “Sorry, Rose, there’s just something I need to tell you about telepathy and how– And how it makes physical intimacy… Erm, how it makes sex _more_ than it is for a human, for anyone, really.” The long silence that followed made Rose wonder if he was embarrassed about the topic, but when he continued, it was with his usual, Doctor-y confidence. “I’ve had other partners in the past, but not many, and never using telepathy. Telepathy during sex is more intimate than anything else for a Time Lord or Lady, more so than the physical element, which was frowned upon more often than not in a High Gallifreyan society. In fact, it was very rare. Telepathy was never fully used until there there was a– ” His voice shook slightly. “A bond between the two individuals. Or until it was time for the bond to be created.”

“A bond? A telepathic bond? What’s that, like Time Lord marriage?” Rose asked curiously. Sensing an impending conversation, she begrudgingly slid off the Doctor and lay on her back, urging him to lay down with her. He followed after a moment and lay on his side with an arm draped over her stomach and his head propped up by his other hand. 

“Yes, a telepathic bond. And I suppose, it’s the equivalent of a human marriage. It’s just very complex and… And more than just an exchange of words and a signature on paper. And if we were to continue, as we are, it’s something we need to think about,” the Doctor replied, eyes burning into Rose’s with intensity.

Rose’s shirt had crept up when she lay down, and as he spoke, the Doctor’s fingers stroked the revealed skin there, creating tiny designs on her skin she was sure meant something in his circular language. It was very, very distracting. His touch sent warm, tingling sensations straight to her core, and she struggled to resist the urge to rub her thighs together for some relief. 

Pushing _that_ to another corner of her mind, Rose focused on their conversation. “So does that mean we can’t…” Her heart dropped as she considered the Doctor’s words. He’d placed such emphasis on the bond that he… “Wait, are you saying you want to bond with me? Because I think... I’d like that.” Rose held her breath, knowing that she’d essentially just suggested she and the Doctor get married, the Time Lord way. The Doctor’s fingers stopped tracing her skin, and his hand fell off her stomach as he stared at her in shock, slightly bug-eyed and jaw gaping wide. Strangely, the idea only filled her with breathless anticipation. She loved the Doctor, and if she’d somehow seen this as the Bad Wolf with the creation of her telepathy, it only gave her more hope and encouragement. 

The Doctor leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss on her lips, a soft smile on his face. “Rose, no. Well, at least not now. That you’d want that with me is…” He closed his eyes and shivered, clearly overwhelmed by her offer. “More than I ever thought I could have with anyone in this long and lonely life of mine. But you’ve only just learned about your telepathy, and I will not allow anything like a bond to be created between us until you know exactly what it is and what it truly means to be bonded with someone like me. You are still a human, and there’s more you need to know. There’s more I need to know about you, to make sure you’re okay, and that this isn’t all just some cruel joke of the universe.” 

He kissed her again, and this time she caught his lower lip between her teeth as he pulled away. She smiled when he groaned. “Minx. But to answer your earlier question, we can most definitely…” 

He trailed off, searching for the right word. “Be physically intimate,” he supplied, just as Rose interjected with a word of her own. 

“Shag?” she offered helpfully with a smirk. 

“Yes, _shag_. There’s a way to create a set of barriers so that we don’t inadvertently create a bond. I can build yours until I teach you how to make them on your own. We’ll still be able to feel surface level emotions between us, since the initial telepathic contact created a baseline connection.” At this, the Doctor returned his hand to her abdomen, and she gasped when she felt the current of arousal and want coursing from his fingers. 

“Doctor,” Rose called out, not caring how desperate she sounded. “Please, the barriers.”

“As you wish,” the Doctor said simply. Rose took the hand he offered and sat up, and she closed her eyes as he built the barriers in her mind. It relieved her a bit, knowing she wouldn’t have to worry about accidentally going too far and creating a bond they weren’t quite ready for yet. She was also thrilled that the Doctor was willing to move forward in this aspect of their relationship, knowing how hard it’d been to let her in after the Time War, how hard it’d been to allow someone to offer him forgiveness and love, even if they had never spoken these truths directly to each other. The Doctor was convinced he deserved none of those things, and Rose was determined to show him how much he did.

+++++

From his perspective, despite his continued actions with Rose–his tongue in her mouth, his hand on her skin, her hand in his hair–part of the Doctor was in a state of complete disbelief. When he’d asked Rose to join him in the Gallifrey room earlier that evening, the last thing he’d expected was for them to finally, _finally_ find themselves in a place to move forward in their relationship _and_ for Rose to offer to form a telepathic bond with him. If it weren’t for his very impressive mind being able to process vasts amounts of information at one time, he’d probably still be sitting in a state of shock with this last revelation. Rose was _telepathic_. After all this time, how had he not–

Ah. 

_Bloody interfering ship._

He rolled his eyes at her smug indifference to his annoyance. 

She’d known all along, his ship. And now Rose wanted to bond with him, offering him one aspect of life he'd thought permanently out of reach, along with every other existing member of his race. 

The Doctor refocused on his current task and carefully constructed telepathic barriers in Rose’s mind. He didn’t intrude outside of what was necessary for the barriers, nor did she in his, but he could feel her desire for him strumming under his fingers on her skin. The air around them was heavy with anticipation for what was to come, and despite his worries about Rose, the Doctor decided to pack away all those things that normally held him at arm’s length from her. He could examine them at another time. They were valid concerns, yes, but the TARDIS had provided enough telepathic assurance on the matter that he decided to hang up his duty as “Protector of the Universe” for the evening and allow himself to fall into the welcoming embrace of _Rose_. 

Barriers in place, the Doctor pulled back and trailed his hands down her arms until their fingers wrapped together. Rose looked at him, eyes dark with desire, and bit her lip. The Doctor suddenly felt nervous; the entire evening had been building to this pivotal moment, and now that they were here, he felt uncharacteristically uncertain and at a loss as to how to proceed. 

Sensing his hesitation, Rose stood up and pulled him with her. He followed her lead and melted into her body when she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a lazy kiss. Breathless anticipation and affectionate amusement invaded his senses, and after a few minutes of snogging, Rose began undoing the buttons on his shirt. 

One button at a time, her pace was achingly slow, and his hearts thudded in his ears as her fingers descended his torso until his shirt was finally open. Not stopping there, however, Rose ran a finger along his belt buckle and smirked when she heard his small intake of breath. With practiced ease, as if she’d imagined her actions a hundred times, Rose unbuckled his belt and unzipped his trousers link by link, at a more torturous pace than with the buttons. 

Needing some form of physical contact to ground him, the Doctor grasped Rose’s upper arms and felt her excitement and steady determination beneath him. Trousers open, she reached inside and found him hard and aroused, ready for her. Always ready for her, this bloody sensitive body of his. 

When Rose dragged her fingernails lightly over the fabric covering his length, the Doctor’s tenuous hold on his control snapped, and he pulled Rose roughly to his chest, trapping her hand between them. His mouth devoured hers, taking everything she offered, and desperate need replaced the slow, deliberate actions of the last few minutes. 

Whimpering slightly, Rose managed to push the Doctor’s shirt off his shoulders, and despite his wandering hands, pulled his vest top over his head and flung it behind her. Just as quickly, Rose found herself divested of her top and bra, and when their bare chests met for the first time, the skin-on-skin contact almost made the Doctor shout in pleasure. As it was, her name rolled off his tongue on a low moan. When she scratched lightly down his back, his hips pushed forward into hers, and the motion reminded him that they were both still half clothed. He paused his frantic exploration of Rose’s torso and leaned his forehead against hers, panting slightly as he tried to regain some equilibrium, and in the quiet moment, Rose placed her hands over his hearts.

Anxious to continue, Rose lowered herself in front of him. She made quick work untying his trainers before he kicked them off carelessly behind him. When she looked up at him from below, seeking permission, the Doctor simply nodded. Rose quickly pulled his pants and trousers down, and those, too, were discarded. Fully, bare to Rose, the Doctor almost came just from the purely possessive and predatory look in her expression. Even in the dim light, he could see the dark gleam of her eyes, and she unconsciously licked her lips. 

Surely she wasn’t going to– Oh. _Oh._ Rose placed a small kiss on each prominent hipbone before licking his length once and taking him in mouth. Her hands gripped his bottocks for leverage, and the Doctor thrust forward once, twice, as Rose swirled her tongue around him. Her pleasure–yes, she enjoyed this, doing this to him–mixed with his, and for an instant in time, the Doctor almost lost himself under her indulgent ministrations. 

Despite the _bloody brilliant_ feeling of Rose’s mouth on him, this was not what he wanted for their first time. With a gentle nudge, he pushed Rose’s head away, and she released him with a small pop. The Doctor knelt down to met Rose and captured her lips with his, groaning when he tasted a bit of himself on her tongue. Breathlessly, he said, “Not that I don’t want to continue that activity another time, but right now, I need _you_ , Rose. And you’re still half clothed, which I find appalling, quite frankly.” He winked at Rose before flipping her on her back in one smooth movement.

He hovered over supine form before grasping the waistband of her leggings. She lifted her hips, and he peeled the offending garment down her legs. The Doctor’s breath caught in his throat. The golden red glow from the moons above cast otherworldly shadows on Rose’s bare form, and the Doctor knew he’d never see anything or anyone as beautiful as his Rose as long as he lived. And he’d seen countless wonders of the universe. 

He bent over and placed a line of kisses along Rose’s collarbone before continuing through the valley between her breasts. One hand cupped her right breast as his mouth laved the peak of the other. “Doctor,” Rose gasped, squirming impatiently beneath him. He flicked the nipple with his tongue, causing her to cry out, before moving to the other to provide it with equal attention. The hand caressing her breasts wandered over her stomach, lower and lower until he slipped a finger between her folds and stroked up and down, finding her slick and ready for him. 

The Doctor felt hot tension building in Rose during the exploration of her body, and his mouth wandered lower, following the path of his hands. He gently pushed Rose’s legs apart, and she willingly opened to him. The scent of her arousal drove him mad, and the Doctor dipped his tongue between her folds and licked slowly over the sensitive bundle of nerves. Rose’s hips jumped uncontrollably, and she called out his name on an exhale of breath. She tasted exquisite, and he briefly wondered if his enhanced sense of taste in this body had been specifically formed for this purpose. 

Working Rose higher and higher with his mouth and fingers, the Doctor tried to ignore the dull throb of his own arousal. A tug on his hair from Rose distracted him from his task, he raised his head curiously to meet her eyes. “If I can’t,” she panted, “neither can you. Now make love to me, Doctor.”

Never one to refuse a request like that, the Doctor licked Rose from his lips and crawled up her body, careful not to touch her skin as he did. When his looked down at her face, he lay his body against hers, and they both gasped loudly at the sensation from the full contact of their bodies together. Wrapped up in each other like they were, it was a challenge to separate his feelings from hers, so similar and so utterly intoxicating. Her body, essence, and soul beckoned him with her touch, and he moved instinctively to answer the call.

+++++

The Doctor ran his length between her folds a few times before positioning himself at her entrance. Rose bit his shoulder in pleasure as he pushed himself inside in one smooth motion. After taking a moment to adjust, Rose simply marveled at the sensation of the Doctor filling her completely, stretching her walls in the most pleasant of ways. Almost overwhelmed by the intensity of the emotions thrumming between them, Rose let out a small cry before rolling her hips and encouraging the Doctor to move.

Rose lost herself in the Doctor’s eyes and realized he looked at her if she hung the moon and shone light into the darkest parts of his soul. They’d saved each other from the lives they ran from, and now, tangled around each other in passion, softly murmured words of adoration and encouragement further stoked the flames between them. 

Wrapping her legs around the Doctor’s narrow waist, Rose met him thrust for thrust as he buried himself inside her, stroking points of pleasure she never even knew existed. When his thumb came down to rub tight circles right where she needed it, Rose began to feel the hot-white tingle of an impending orgasm spread from her toes and up her body. 

She scratched her nails down the Doctor’s back and spurred him onward, faster and harder, until in a blinding moment of ecstasy, they both fell over the edge, their names on each other's lips. The surface level telepathy amplified and drew out the physical pleasures of what they’d just experienced, and Rose floated blissfully for several minutes before coming back to herself. 

The Doctor collapsed on her chest, his head positioned snugly between her breasts, and she idly stroked his hair as their breathing leveled out and returned to normal. When the Doctor moved to pull out, Rose tightened her walls and legs around him to hold him in place. “No, not yet. Please,” she whispered, and sighed in relief when he nodded against her. 

“That was…” the Doctor started, at a loss for words. 

“Yeah,” Rose answered, blushing despite herself. 

Time passed, unhurried in its progression, and when the Doctor finally pulled out, they both groaned at the loss. The Doctor wrapped Rose in his arms and rolled so he lay on his back with Rose draped on top of him. One hand held her tightly to his body and the other drew the same circular patterns on her back he’d been drawing earlier. She shivered at the sensation of his touch plus the residual euphoria from their coupling that still buzzed through her veins. 

Raising her head off the Doctor’s chest, she looked to the side of their blanket and found another one folded neatly closeby. She giggled and pushed herself up. “Looks like the TARDIS is looking out for us again.” She fluffed the blanket and drew it over them as she curled into the Doctor’s side. With a contented sigh, she murmured, “‘M never gonna leave you.”

The Doctor hugged her tightly and kissed the top of her head. “You’d better not. You promised.” He hummed a haunting melody that reminded Rose of the TARDIS, of time and infinity, and the vibrations lulled her to the edge of sleep. 

A quiet whisper briefly roused her. 

“At the end of the day, Rose, you’re all I’ll ever need.”

+++++

The TARDIS hummed around them, her life and energy woven into everything in this room, into the infinite expanse of the ship. It was, of course, part of herself. It gave her joy to see her Thief and her Wolf come together as they had, finally allowing themselves to acknowledge and step onto the path that Time itself wrote for them.

A storm was coming, this she knew, and it would be dark and deadly, throwing the universe, the multiverse, into a chaotic spiral. Everything they had, everything they were, would be flung into darkness, and they only had a short Time left to experience the peace that currently pervaded her walls. 

However, despite this, she knew how their story ended, could see the timelines stretched beyond their wildest dreams, dancing through the stars. The Doctor and Rose Tyler were destined for more than the pain of separation.

The storm would pass.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure when I'll get around to continuing this verse, but it'll happen, don't worry. :)

**Author's Note:**

> I have actually decided to turn this into a series, if you may have noticed. I'm going to keep quiet about specific future plans, but after writing this piece, I decided it will have to eventually be canon divergent, because I cannot bear for these two to be separated forever. The next installation will be very, very angsty. So prepare yourselves.


End file.
